Tips, Tools and Resources for Preserving Historical Records

1. Tips, Tools and Resources for Preserving Historical Records Utah-Salt Lake ARMA Chapter Meeting January 21, 2010

2. Agenda • Physical storage issues • Affects on preservation • Prevention • Planning • Resources

3. Existing environmental conditions Storage and Access Fire Protection Policies & procedures Physical issues: Your Facility

4. What are the existing environmental conditions? • Condition • Age of the building • Temperature/Humidity • Light • Multiple users • Commercial storage • Ensure historic records storage needs are addressed.

5. What are the desirable environmental conditions? • Controlled storage environments • Temperature: 68 and 72 degrees F • Relative humidity (RH): 40 and 50%. • Maintain consistency • Lighting • UV (both natural and fluorescent) increases the rate of deterioration • Shut off lights; block off storage areas from light, curtain windows

6. Storage and access • Storage options • Shelving • Storage enclosures • Fire proof vaults • Building access – who has keys or codes • Building security systems • Open access storage areas • Locked storage areas

7. Fire protection • Fire suppression systems • Fire/smoke alarms • Arrangements with local fire officials

8. Policies and Procedures • What is the role the records play: • Administrative, historic, r & d, marketing? • Security/access • Who has access and to what level? • Care and handling • Duplication for use/distribution • Risk management/insurance

9. Physical record types • Books and volumes • Covers – leather, canvas or fabric • Bindings: Loose-leaf or sewn • Blueprints, flat or rolled • Photographs • Paper • Tri-folded • Flat paper folders • Onion-skin files • Oversize paper documents • Fasteners • Clips • “O” fasteners

10. Deterioration - Rust from clips

11. Water damage on folders

12. What can we do? • Mitigate - prevention • Preservation: Action taken to slow or prevent the deterioration or damage of archival records. (we should do this) • Conservation: Taking specific, physical treatment to repair a damaged document. (get a professional!) • Reformat – film or digitize

13. Prevention – the Do’s & Don'ts of Storage Do • Use non-combustible shelves • Handle records with clean hands and/or white gloves • Store in areas free of dirt, dust & pollutants • Keep in secure containers to reduce pest damage • Keep records off floors (3 to 6 inch barrier) Don’t • Store in attics, basements, storage containers • Stay away from heat sources • Store near UV (fluorescent and sunlight) • Avoid water or moisture areas (mold growth)

14. Storage at Salt Lake City Recorder’s vault

15. Care & Handling • Books • 3 inches from walls • Upright on shelves; no leaning • Keep paper and cloth away from leather (acid and oils migrate) • Box those with fragile bindings • Don’t stack boxes too high or protrude over shelf edges

16. Reboxing and new enclosures

17. Planning ahead • Long-range preservation plan • Preservation planning identifies general and specific needs for the care of collections, establishes priorities, and identifies resources. • Defines a course of action for the present and the future, and • Allocates resources appropriately. • Should be part of an overall business continuity plan. • Needs assessment – survey

18. Resources • NEDCC – Northeast Document Conservation Center http://www.nedcc.org • Library of Congress • http://www.loc.gov/preserv/pub/ • http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/

19. Resources • Image Permanence Institute • http://www.imagepermanenceinstitute.org/ • National Archives • Holdings Maintenance • http://www.archives.gov/preservation/holdings-maintenance/

20. Show and tell - questions

21. Thank You!! Terry Blonquist Nelson, Director Salt Lake County Records Management & Archives Division 4505 S. 5600 W. West Valley City, UT 84120 Ph. 801-963-7343; fax: 801-963-7397; cell: 801-349-0393 tbnelson@slco.org www.archives.slco.org